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Psychs on bikes cruise rural Australia

ELEANOR HALL: It's not quite the flying doctor service but a team of psychiatrists arrived in Sydney last night after riding motorbikes from Perth.

They're trying to raise awareness about some of the difficulties rural communities face with mental health issues like suicide and depression.

And they want their ride to raise $20,000 for the Australasian Centre for Rural and Regional Mental Health.

This report from Broken Hill reporter Margaret Paul:

MARGARET PAUL: An outback pub might be a strange place to find a mental health conference but these are no ordinary psychiatrists.

JOE DUNN: I think the 'psychs on bikes' idea has a certain appeal because the audience that we're trying to get to is mostly men and probably men who are on farms and work in rural areas.

MARGARET PAUL: Dr Joe Dunn is a Sydney psychiatrist who's been leading the procession of mental health workers on motorbikes across regional Australia.

JOE DUNN: My particular interest is in depression and suicide in rural areas. Unfortunately suicide is also more common in rural areas than urban ones.

MARGARET PAUL: The group is aiming to raise $20,000 for the Australasian Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health.

Dr Dunn says they're also hoping to raise awareness for the difficulties people face when dealing with mental illness in the bush.

JOE DUNN: When you get to a sort of situation like a suicidal depression then you've really got to have psychiatric assessment at some point, in terms of then advising the diagnosis and treatment. And getting psychiatrists into rural areas is terribly difficult.

MARGARET PAUL: That was the experience of Donna Harvey. She's been in and out of the mental health system in Broken Hill since a particularly bad weekend more than 20 years ago.

DONNA HARVEY: I had spent the weekend contemplating suicide. I had come to a very low point. I was having a lot of trouble and I had no-one to turn to and things had just got out of hand.

MARGARET PAUL: She's been with the same counsellor for a year now but says over the years she's found mental health workers come and go.

DONNA HARVEY: It's very difficult because you can't form a good relationship with the person.

MARGARET PAUL: She says the stigma of mental illness is a problem for people living in the bush.

DONNA HARVEY: There's a lot of whispering and that sort of thing, yeah.

(Excerpt from Mad Max 2)

MARGARET PAUL: Mad Max 2 was filmed just outside Broken Hill. At a panel discussion, the psychs on bikes used the film as a way of openly discussing the mental health issues that men in rural areas can face.

Dr Robert McAlpine is a rural psychologist.

ROBERT MCALPINE: When you look at what Max is doing, you've got to ask yourself the question: well, is he impaired in what he's doing? Is he distressed?

MARGARET PAUL: Many of the psychs on bikes watched the Mad Max trilogy during the trip.

Dr Joe Dunn:

JOE DUNN: The figure of Mad Max represents all sorts of typically male things like loss, grief, trauma, alienation, all those lovely things that psychiatrists and psychologists deal with every day.

From the Archives

Around 500 Indigenous people fought in the First World War, and as many as 5,000 in the second. But many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers who made it home received little or no recognition for their contribution. On Anzac Day, 2007, the first parade to commemorate their efforts and bravery was held in Sydney. Listen to our report from that day by Lindy Kerin.